1991 Oregon Legislative OCZMA- Sea Grant Fellowship Final Report by Mara Brown, Legislative Fellow Oregon Coastal Zone Management Association, Inc. (OCZMA) Oregon State Sea Grant Program The Oregon State Legislative Fellowship was sponsored by the Oregon Sea Grant College Program and by the Oregon Coastal Zone Management Association, Inc. (OCZMA) with funding assistance by the Oregon Economic Development Department. Table of Contents I. Legislative Fellowship Background 1 II. Mechanics 2 III. Oregon Coastal Notes 4 IV. Recommendations 5 V. Annotated Summary of Legislation by Issue ...Fisheries 6 Oregon Coastal Notes Articles ...Ocean Policy 22 Oregon Coastal Notes Articles ...Oil Spill Prevention 29 Oregon Coastal Notes Articles ...Shellfish Program 39 Oregon Coastal Notes Articles ...Water Policy 45 Oregon Coastal Notes Articles ...Other Issues 58 Oregon Coastal Notes Articles 1991 Oregon Legislative OCZMA/Sea Grant Fellowship Final Report by Mara Brown, Legislative Fellow I. Background The OCZMA/Sea Grant Legislative Fellowship was created in 1987 primarily as a means to provide a student from the OSU Marine Resource Management Program (MRM) with experience in applying the knowledge she or he had gained in science and public policy through the MRM program at the state government level. The National Sea Grant Fellowship in Washington, D.C. was already in existence, and the OCZMA/Sea Grant Fellowship would mirror that at the state and local level. In addition to providing the student with valuable educational and professional experience, OCZMA and Sea Grant both benefitted by having a liaison in the Legislature. The legislative fellow serves as an information valve; providing information on coastal issues to the Coastal Caucus legislators, and also informing those outside the legislature, including the local coastal governments represented by OCZMA and Sea Grant Extension agents, for example, of what was happening in Salem. The application process for the 1991 Legislative Fellowship began in April of 1990, eight months in advance of the move to Salem. By late April, the acceptance letter came, and I was on my way to familiarizing myself with the possible issues that the Legislature would be considering. Immediately I was put on the mailing list of the Oregon Coastal Zone Management Association, Inc (OCZMA). The information they provided me with on a regular basis included meeting agendas, and background reports on a wide variety of topics from dredging to Pacific whiting. Additionally, I was sent copies of OCZMA meeting minutes, which enabled me to develop a sense of what the coastal issues would be based on the topics of interest to the Association. In November, Jay Rasmussen and I went to Salem and discussed with Senator Bradbury and the Executive Director of the Majority Office, Peter Toll, the feasibility of having the the fellowship housed in the Senate Majority Office. In 1987 the fellowship had begun in the office of Representative Paul Hanneman, and in 1989, the fellow was located in the office of Senator Brenneman; both of whom were senior Republican legislators. In the fall of 1990, Senator Bradbury was the most influential Democratic legislator among the eight Coastal Caucus legislators. Both Senator Bradbury and Toll were willing to house the fellow; after two sessions the fellowship concept had proven a welcome and necessary additional staff person to a coastal legislator. One major factor would not be resolved until January, and that was the possibility that Senator Bradbury would be appointed by the Governor to the position of Secretary of State. Senator Bradbury was not appointed Secretary of State, and remained Democratic majority leader of the Senate. However, in early January, Senator Mike Thorne, then co-chair of the budget-writing Ways and Means Committee, announced that he would be leaving the Oregon Legislature immediately in order to take a job as Director of the Port of Portland. His vacancy left Senator Bradbury as the second ranking Senator after Senate President John Kitzhaber. It was decided that Senator Bradbury would take on Thorne's position as co-chair immediately. One of the early tests of Bradbury's leadership was his being reaffirmed as majority leader. There were potential conflicts in holding the position of majority leader in conjunction with the additional position of Ways and Means chair, which is considered to be one of the most influential positions a legislator could hold. The Democratic Caucus upheld Bradbury's role as majority leader, and gave tremendous credit to Senator Bradbury that he could take on both tasks and do them well. The factors which led to the fellowship being located in the office both of the Senate Majority Leader and of the Co-chair of Ways and Means were unforeseen when Jay Rasmussen approached Senator Bradbury to host the Legislative fellow, but ultimately worked to the great benefit of myself, as well as OCZMA and Sea Grant. The Senator was already considered one of the most influential ocean policy legislators, having been the primary sponsor of the 1987 legislation which enacted the Oregon Ocean Task Force to draft the Oregon Ocean Management Plan, and now he was also going to co-control the state budget. Between April 1990 and January 1991, I attended and made a presentation at an OCZMA meeting, I attended a Wetland meeting in Salem. I also took courses in State and Local Government and Public Sector Economics at Oregon State University to complete my preliminary preparation. In November I attended a conference on Ocean and Coastal Issues sponsored by the Oregon Natural Resources Council, and a meeting sponsored by Senator Bradbury on the possibility of forming a Coastal Conservancy in Oregon. Upon recommendation of Emily Toby, OCZMA/Sea Grant Legislative Fellow in 1987, I had read Alan Rosenthal's Legislative Life, (1981. New York: Harper and Row). I decided that I would try to be at least as prepared as a freshman legislator, and I deliberately did not have any expectations for the the fellowship except to learn as much as possible. By January I had an idea of what could happen with the Legislative Fellowship but no idea of what would be in store for me. II. Mechanics One of the biggest questions is how the fellow actually becomes a non-partisan information provider, remaining informed about the issues, but at the same time not advocating any particular program or piece of legislation. This is often a challenge in that the fellow becomes a liaison or voice for various interest groups; she must communicate ideas effectively without being an advocate. Early on, it was critical for me to establish credibility, carve out my niche in the majority office, as well as with the other coastal legislators. Perhaps because of my location in one of the most political offices in the legislature, it was easier to draw the line between my role as an issue- specialist and others' roles as political or caucus specialists. Although the flexibility and independence which are built into the position are probably the most important factors in the ability the fellow has to be effective, my circumstances of working in one of the largest legislative offices meant that I also had to demonstrate that I was part of that office, as opposed to merely using it as a place to make and receive phone calls. Perhaps because of the dynamics within the office itself, I gradually became one of the Majority Office staff. In contrast to other internship positions in Senator Bradbury's office, I worked full time and was to be there for the duration of the session. I took on the role of "ocean and coastal fellow" in the Majority Office. Most calls coming into the office about the ocean and coastal issues, whether from the Senator's constituents on the South Coast, press people, or agency staff, were referred to me. I also was given letters coming in to Senator Bradbury to respond to on his behalf. Once I was asked by a staff person in Senator Cliff Trow's office (D-Corvallis) to respond to a letter coming into his office concerning high seas drift nets. After some initial adjustment, my staff role in the majority office was thus well defined. 1991 Oregon Legislative Report Page 2 The role of the legislative fellow with respect to the other coastal caucus members is less well defined. Each of the coastal caucus members has legislative assistants as well as interns to respond to constituent concerns, and committee staff to do background work in preparation for hearings on specific bills. In addition to working on correspondence for Senator Bradbury, I also assisted Senator Brenneman and Representative Josi with a constituent concern from Manzanita regarding wetlands. I was also asked by Representative Schroeder to collect background information on marine mammals which might be pertinent to Representative Schroeder's Congressional memorial regarding state take-over of management of California sea lions and harbor seals. My major function with the coastal caucus, however, was to arrange for weekly breakfast meetings with speakers on issues of interest to the coast. The caucus met every Monday morning at 7:00 a.m., at JB's Restaurant near the Capitol. Monday morning had advantages in that the caucus could discuss the events of the coming week. However, with a few of the coastal legislators returning to their districts on the weekend, often there would not be full attendance. Former coastal Representative Paul Hanneman was a regular attendee, as were several of the caucus staff people. In contrast to the image the word "caucus" usually conjures in one's minds, and in the minds of a lot of Salem insiders, the coastal caucus is not extremely political. Of the eight coastal caucus members, six are Democrats and two are Republicans.